upgrading old comp

[nomnomem]

hi pc novice here and was wondering if some one could help out ,I have a Compaq Presario SR1519UK PC and I really need to upgrade the graphics and money is very tight so can some one help me find correct graphics card for my problem I know I will have to replace psu also.
thanks for your time and help.

 

[lonewolf7]

Please post your full system specs.

 

[nomnomem]

Please post your full system specs.

windows 7 home premium 32 bit
Compaq Presario 061
EC520AA-ABU SR1519UK GB530
BIOS phoenix-award bios v6.00PG
AMD ATHLON 64 Processor 3200+ Ghz
2gb ddr ram
ATI Radeon Xpress 200 series
hope that's what you need tks

 

[Sangeet Khatri]

It is really old to be upgraded, sell the old Motherboard + CPU + RAM + PSU on ebay or use it on some other side stuff (like a linux home server / Other cool DIY Stuff).
If you really want to use it then use a lightweight Linux Distro and build a new PC because it is like very old to be upgraded. It uses socket 939 which is not something to upgrade, so better install some lightweight linux on it use that PC for some other stuff.

And build a new cheap PC with these specs which would be a lot of upgrade and just for under 250 dollars..

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A6-5400K 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($63.23 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A55M-DGS Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($23.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.49 @ Outlet PC)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master i500 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $246.68
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-02 14:41 EDT-0400)

 

[nomnomem]

It is really old to be upgraded, sell the old Motherboard + CPU + RAM + PSU on ebay or use it on some other side stuff (like a linux home server / Other cool DIY Stuff).
If you really want to use it then use a lightweight Linux Distro and build a new PC because it is like very old to be upgraded. It uses socket 939 which is not something to upgrade, so better install some lightweight linux on it use that PC for some other stuff.

And build a new cheap PC with these specs which would be a lot of upgrade and just for under 250 dollars..

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A6-5400K 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($63.23 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A55M-DGS Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($23.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.49 @ Outlet PC)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master i500 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $246.68
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-02 14:41 EDT-0400)

not an option at the moment since made redundant cash is far to tight
but need this for job searching and for my daughter to play on

 

[lonewolf7]

Well looking at your specs and especially your motherboard I saw that you have a PCI-Express slot available. Which is actually a PCI-Express x 16 slot, so you can get a PCI graphics card. I don't know what is the budget you like to spend on it. I can suggest you any low to mid range graphics card will serve your purpose.

You missed a very important thing, PSU(power supply unit)specs. A 450 to 500 watt PSU will be more than enough for you. But keep in mind don't go with the local brand PSU, buy a branded one(e.g XFX, Corsair, Seasonic, Cooler Master).

 

[hang-the-9]

With that system, you can buy any video card really and have it be usable and faster, but due to the old system, don't expect any huge improvements.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150655

You did not list why you need faster graphics, if you are looking to play any newer games or HD movies, you may as well buy a used dual-core system for $100-150 off craigslist or somewhere, will be a lot better than just a video card upgrade.

 

[mohit9206]

In my opinion the best graphics card for upgrading older PC's is Radeon 7750. Its cheap,its fast,it consumes very little power and does not require a power supply upgrade either.

 

[nomnomem]

Well looking at your specs and especially your motherboard I saw that you have a PCI-Express slot available. Which is actually a PCI-Express x 16 slot, so you can get a PCI graphics card. I don't know what is the budget you like to spend on it. I can suggest you any low to mid range graphics card will serve your purpose.

You missed a very important thing, PSU(power supply unit)specs. A 450 to 500 watt PSU will be more than enough for you. But keep in mind don't go with the local brand PSU, buy a branded one(e.g XFX, Corsair, Seasonic, Cooler Master).

think this is only a 350 w but got a 400psu at friends ,do you mean like 1 of these types if so any thoughts of which is best I know these are cheap ones but with pc being so old I am no going to spend a fortune on it since I don't have fortune anyway lol, but it will be used for videos and games by daughter
ATI Radeon X1800 XT 512MB Graphics Card / PCIE PCI Express
ATI Sapphire Radeon HD5570 1GB DDR3 Graphics Card PCI-e VGA, DVI, HDMI Outputs
NVIDIA GEFORCE 6600 GT 128MB PCI-EXPRESS VIDEO CARD
GeForce 8400GS PCI-E Gaming 3D Graphics Card Low Profile 256MB DVI-E DVI +TV-Out
FireGL V7300 with Avivo 512MB PCI-E Professional/Gaming Dual DVI Graphics Card

tks for your time an help

 

[nomnomem]

In my opinion the best graphics card for upgrading older PC's is Radeon 7750. Its cheap,its fast,it consumes very little power and does not require a power supply upgrade either.

would it make a difference since it is a PCI 3.0
heard that pci 3 is not backwards compatible with pci 1 but pci 2 is

 

[hang-the-9]

Well looking at your specs and especially your motherboard I saw that you have a PCI-Express slot available. Which is actually a PCI-Express x 16 slot, so you can get a PCI graphics card. I don't know what is the budget you like to spend on it. I can suggest you any low to mid range graphics card will serve your purpose.

You missed a very important thing, PSU(power supply unit)specs. A 450 to 500 watt PSU will be more than enough for you. But keep in mind don't go with the local brand PSU, buy a branded one(e.g XFX, Corsair, Seasonic, Cooler Master).

think this is only a 350 w but got a 400psu at friends ,do you mean like 1 of these types if so any thoughts of which is best I know these are cheap ones but with pc being so old I am no going to spend a fortune on it since I don't have fortune anyway lol, but it will be used for videos and games by daughter
ATI Radeon X1800 XT 512MB Graphics Card / PCIE PCI Express
ATI Sapphire Radeon HD5570 1GB DDR3 Graphics Card PCI-e VGA, DVI, HDMI Outputs
NVIDIA GEFORCE 6600 GT 128MB PCI-EXPRESS VIDEO CARD
GeForce 8400GS PCI-E Gaming 3D Graphics Card Low Profile 256MB DVI-E DVI +TV-Out
FireGL V7300 with Avivo 512MB PCI-E Professional/Gaming Dual DVI Graphics Card

tks for your time an help

With that CPU and RAM, any of those cards will run as good as the others. If you are paying any more than $20 for these cards, get a new one.

The X1800 is only a mobile video card, is it another model maybe?

As for the rest of the list, the 5570 is BY FAR the best card to pick from. Although depending on the price there could be better ones. Should work fine without a power supply upgrade as well.

 

[nomnomem]

thank you to all who helped it was very much appreciated I have contacted an online shop and will hopefully have card soon , thks for not going on about buying new pc all the time really would if I could,
in doing so you have shown a very helpful and professional attitude.

Thank you all.

 

[lonewolf7]

Glad to help you.